SOCIOLOGY: THEORY AND PRACTICE

SOCIOLOGY:THEORYANDPRACTICERONNIEPASIGUICHAPTER-18SOCIALCHANGE,TECHNOLOGYANDTHEENVIRONMENT(FromHuntingSocietytoE-Society)“Ashiftinthecharacteristicsofcultureandsociety,issuchavitalpartofsociallife.”JamesM.HenslinSOCIOLOGY:THEORYANDPRACTICERONNIEPASIGUICHAPTERTOPICSLEARNINGOBJECTIVESCRITICALQUESTIONSFORDISCUSSIONThetransformationofsocietyDiscussearlyexplanationsofsocietaltransformationHowdoyouexplainthetransformationsocietiesfromtraditionaltomodern?SocialchangeandtechnologyDescribetheprocessesofsocialchangeHowdoestechnologyaffectsocialchange?TheoriesofsocialchangeDiscussthemajortheoriesofsocialchangeHowdoessocialchangeoccur?SocialchangeandthenaturalenvironmentDiscusstheimpactofindustrializationandtechnologyonthenaturalenvironmentDoestechnologyaffectpollutionproblem?EnvironmentalsociologyDiscussthegoalsofenvironmentalsociologyHowcantechnologybeinharmonywithenvironment?SOCIOLOGY:THEORYANDPRACTICERONNIEPASIGUIMAKINGCONNECTIONS:1.Exploreingreaterdepththerelationshipbetweensocialchangeandtechnology.Youmaywishtoselectaspecifictypeoftechnologyandanalyzepossibleconsequences.Forexample,lookattheimpactofroboticsonsociety.Presentyourfindingsinsmallgrouporclassdiscussionorintheformoftermpaper.2.Forsmallgroupdiscussion,analyzewhatyourlifewouldbelikewithouttechnologylikecellphones,computers,cars,etc.Supposeyouhadallthestatusesandresponsibilitiesyoucurrentlyhave,butdidnothavetechnology,woulditbepossibletofulfillallyourobligations?3.Collectdataonenvironmentalactivistgroupsonyourcampusorinyourcity.Whattypesofissuesaretheymostinterestedin?Howdotheygoaboutmakingtheirbeliefsknowntotheelectedofficials?Howdotheyrecruitnewmembersanddonorstotheircause?Presentyourfindingstotheclassorinapaper.TEAMTEACHINGSUGGESTIONS:Inviteanyofthefollowing:1.Anenvironmentalspecialistorinterestgrouptodiscussenvironmentalconcerns.Ifyourcollegehasanofficialdesignatedtodealwithhazardouswasteoncampus,youmaywishtohavethispersonmeetwithyourclass.2.Acolleaguewhoseareaofspecializationisenvironmentalsociology.3.Aresearcherontechnologydevelopmenttodiscussthetrendsandissuesintechnology.